


But For the Heart and Liver

by Jalules



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Fluff, Friendship, Kelpies, M/M, Romance, fairytale style, magical creature au, merfolk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-24
Updated: 2013-05-24
Packaged: 2017-12-12 19:41:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/815289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jalules/pseuds/Jalules
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Once upon a time, there was a lonely kelpie boy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	But For the Heart and Liver

**Author's Note:**

> Part of a fic giveaway on tumblr.  
> Oh and hey, if you don't know what a kelpie is, you should probably google it or else you’ll be really confused.  
> Warning that kelpie lore is not for the faint of heart, though for purposes of this story, the gross stuff is kept to a super minimum.

 

.

.

.

Once upon a time, there was a lonely kelpie boy. His name was Dirk, which is a silly name for a kelpie, or for anyone really, but he was never especially bothered by it.

Dirk was not lonely in the sense that he was completely and utterly on his own in the world, as he had a small number of friends and family members who lived in waters not too far away, and even if he was the last fey left in the ocean he would not be too devastatingly lonely, as kelpies are pretty solitary creatures to begin with.

No, he was lonely in other ways, in small, sad ways that caught up to him when he watched the current shift for too long, when he was drifting to sleep on a bed of kelp that was just big enough, but somehow empty. He was lonely in an aching, bittersweet way that made him want to reach for someone else’s hand, or hoof, or whatever they happened to be wearing at the time.

He wanted someone to love.

And it was all the fault of a merboy, really. Before catching sight of him, Dirk had carried on alone every day of his life, making brief visits with his witchy sisters and brother, allowing a tentacley hug here and there. He had been content with that bit of contact, content to swim and hunt and eat and sleep alone, until he saw Jake.

It was a fine, sunny day above water when their paths first crossed.

Taking the long way home after a morning spent hunting, Dirk had decided to trot through a scenic coral reef. The water was only a few feet deep, allowing the sunlight to filter through, and aside from a few stray fish, he assumed he was alone.

Until, that is, he heard a voice muttering softly.

Not too far away, on the other side of a thick wall of pink coral, there was a flicker of movement, the swish of a tail.

He was disturbed, for a moment, at being surprised by some simple fish. His skills of observation were usually so much better than that!

But as he stepped forward with a heavy hoof, breathing out hard enough to make bubbles rise in a noisy rush all around his muzzle, the source of his surprise was surprised itself, letting out a startled sound as it swam back fast, long tail lashing out.

With the creature in view, Dirk could take in the size, the shape of it, the species; it wasn’t just a fish, it was a merperson. A boy, specifically. A fairly attractive boy, even more specifically.

The merboy stared up at Dirk with wide eyes, just a few feet away and so much smaller, and when he made no move to swim away, Dirk assumed he was frozen in fear.

But a slow, unsure smile had started to settle on the boy’s face, and after a rough swallow, a slight swish of his tail, he spoke up,

“Well golly you’re a big fella.”

Dirk stomped one hoof again, making the boy jump a little, and though it was practically his job to scare the daylights out of things, the worried expression that passed over the boy’s face made him feel less than fantastic.

“Sorry, did I….uh…am I doing something wrong here? If I’m trespassing I promise I’ll hightail it off your territory as fast as my fins can take me!”

Dirk whinnied, non-threateningly, and expected the boy to either head for the hills or wait for a response, but instead he just kept talking.

“I was just doing a bit of exploring, see,” He said, “I’m an adventurer, is the thing, and, frankly, adventuring around the ol’ Mercity has gone a bit on the stale side these days! I’ve already looked around just about every nook and cranny there is to be found, probably twice! So I swam out this way to take a look at some, eh, previously unexplored edges of the sea and-“

Dirk whinnied again, more insistently, the intention being ‘shut up you prattling fool,’ but the merboy applied another meaning to the sound entirely and kept going.

“Oh! I mean, of course it’s been explored before, obviously, _you’re_ here. I just meant, unexplored by me, and I hate to think there’s any inch of the ocean I haven’t at least had a good poke around- ah! Stupid me, totally forgetting my manners here,” He paused to clear his throat, puffed up his chest a bit, “I’m Jake, by the way. Jake the Adventurer. Not an official title, mind, but I’m hoping someday-“

Dirk lost his patience.

Shapeshifting from one form to another shut Jake up faster than a threatening sound ever could, apparently, and as Dirk rolled his shoulders to assimilate to thin skin and scales in place of dark flanks and a briny mane, the merboy looked on in awe.

In this form, much closer to Jake’s own, but for the tail, they were nearly eye to eye. It was disconcerting, not towering over someone, but Dirk knew he could be just as intimidating looking like a boy than he could as a horse.

“Phwoar,” Jake breathed, eyes wide behind his peculiar human spectacles.

Curious, those spectacles. Dirk was half-tempted to ask where he’d gotten them. He could have found them on the ocean floor maybe, or tricked them right out of some hapless sailor’s hands.

He was even more tempted to compliment him, as the frames suited his face rather well, but rather than comment on the glasses at all, he put business first.

“This isn’t my territory,” He said, clarifying before there could be any further confusion.

“Oh!” Jake said, half a beat too slow. He seemed distracted, probably still surprised by Dirk’s transformation, “Well then! No harm, no foul I suppose!”

Dirk made no move to nod, to answer at all. He studied the merboy, top to bottom, from thick, dark hair to the scales leading down the fanned fin of his tail.

Green, those scales; like algae, like lily pads, like emeralds in a sunken Spanish treasure chest.

A glance back up to Jake’s eyes showed the same striking shade.

Dirk wanted to put his arm up against the merboy’s tail to judge the difference in color, lay green against the sunset colors of his own scales.

He wanted to touch those scales, that hair, to see if they felt at all like his own.

He wanted to grab Jake around the waist and throw him over his back, race home to his cave and set him gently in the corner, to stay there and look pretty, prettier than any other prize he’d ever collected.

He knew that was at least a little creepy.

Silence stretched between them, and the longer Dirk stared, the more Jake looked like he might turn tail and swim away, and Dirk couldn’t let him leave yet.

He wanted to study him a little longer.

“Were you talking to yourself just now?” He asked.

Jake blinked in surprise, shoulders drooping a little as though he’d just relaxed after holding his breath, “What? Oh, when I was looking at the reefs? Yes, haha. Sorry if it bothered you.”

Dirk didn’t realize how much he wanted the answer to be yes until he heard it. He shook his head, saying, “No, it didn’t bother me. I talk to myself all the time.”

The idea that he had something in common with someone other than his admittedly spooky siblings made him feel surprisingly warm and fuzzy.

“No shame in talking to yourself, I think,” Jake said, breaking into a grin, “Though, eh…” He hesitated, waiting till Dirk raised an eyebrow in honest curiosity to finish his thought, “You’re so quiet, I can’t imagine you saying a whole lot to anyone!”

Dirk stiffened up, immediately embarrassed in a way he couldn’t quite pin down, and only tensed further as Jake winked at him.

“Just teasing,” The merboy said, still flashing a grin.

Dirk didn’t know how to respond to teasing, so he didn’t. He stared blankly ahead, frowning slightly, till Jake seemed to get uncomfortable again.

“Ah….” Jake’s voice trailed off, unsure, “You’re not a very friendly fellow, are you?”

Dirk shrugged his shoulders, saying, “I’m quiet, like you said.”

Jake’s mouth formed a surprised ‘o,’ an expression that inspired an immediate rush of affection in Dirk’s head and heart, “I get it!” Jake said, beaming all over again, “You’re just shy! Well blazes, pal, you should have said something!”

Dirk thought to correct him, explain that he wasn’t shy, really, just that he didn’t interact with anybody much, but Jake was talking too quickly to get a word in. And to be honest, he was sort of enjoying just watching Jake speak.

“I’m sure you could open up a bit if you tried, though! Hell, I could help you with that! See, we’re already having a fine conversation right now! At this rate we’ll be fast friends in no time!”

Dirk raised both eyebrows, surprised at the choice of words. Friends? They’d known each other all of five minutes, how could they be friends?

Maybe they just had different definitions of the word friend.

“I don’t have a lot of friends,” Dirk admitted.

“Well consider yourself one friend richer, my good man!” Jake said, excited. His smile shrank slightly for a moment though, and he gave Dirk a curious look over, “That is, unless you wanted to kill me or something. That’d complicate matters a bit.”

He looked momentarily nervous, but once Dirk shook his head, he relaxed again.

“I’ve already eaten today,” Dirk explained. The fact that he would be looking for a meal tomorrow went unsaid.

“Splendid!” Jake said, clapping his hands together, “Then we’re set. Friends?”

A half-second later, Dirk found himself faced with an outstretched hand. He assumed he was supposed to offer his hand as well, but he hesitated to reach out.

“Three days,” He said.

Jake blinked behind his spectacles, “Three days?” His hand stayed firmly in place, still inviting a friendly shake.

“On three particular days, I will come to see you.”

“…oh?”

“Here.If we happen to meet, it’ll be here. There will be three days, and three chances to speak. Those are the rules.”

“Rules? Why…why do we need rules?”

Dirk shrugged. Rules were rules, and everyone had to have a few, especially faery water horses.

“Huh. Alright then. Three days.”

“The third day will determine whether or not we become friends.”

“…sure,” Jake said, nodding slowly, unsure, “And uh, there’s no chance you’ll say ‘screw it’ and eat me after all this? Right?”

“Right. Merfolk don’t really suit my palate.”         

“…of course.”

Dirk flashed a slight smile then, finally taking hold of Jake’s hand and giving it a quick shake.

The brief contact was enough to send a little thrill through him, making his webbed toes curl.

Jake grinned back, refusing to let go of Dirk’s hand till he’d given it an even heartier shake, “And of course, if you ever want to do any adventuring…I mean, outside of those three days, you’re more than welcome to come along.”

Dirk slipped his hand free, bringing it back close against his own body, as if keeping it safe, “I think we’ll just stick to three days.”

Sticking to arbitrary rules was probably safest.

“…lord, you are a funny one though, aren’t you, eh…” A puzzled expression crossed Jake’s face, making him frown a bit, “You know, it occurs to me you never gave me your name.”

Dirk bristled.

No he _did not_ give Jake his name. Unlike the merboy, he was careful.

Names are power to the fey, you see, and offering even one to another creature could be a danger.

But since Jake had entrusted him with his name, he felt somewhat obligated to share.

“It’s Dirk,” He said, quickly, just in case anyone else happened to be listening.

“Dirk!” Jake exclaimed, negating his cautious efforts immediately, “Fantastic.”

Dirk sighed. He wasn’t sure if fantastic was really the best word for it, but there it was anyway. They were on even footing, each holding the other’s name, and Dirk was trying very hard to be comfortable with that.

He imagined offering a second or third name to the merboy, felt sick with simultaneous worry and excitement at the idea.

“Dirk the, uh….kelpie I guess?” Jake asked, looking for a little more information. He was hoping for a title, Dirk assumed, like the one he’d try to pin on himself.

“Just Dirk.”

Because honestly, titles were unnecessary, and Jake was being a bit pushy.

At this rate, Dirk thought, Jake would be wanting to slap a bridle on him next time they met.

That thought made his throat feel tight, his fins tingle.

He wasn’t sure if he’d mind it very much, honestly.

He might actually like it a bit.

Dirk realized he should probably get back home before he sunk into any slackjawed and drooling expressions of obvious interest.

“Just Dirk,” Jake repeated, “Well then _Just Dirk_ , I won’t keep you from your travels if you’re supposed to be on your way…”

His voice trailed off, leaving an opening for Dirk to shake his head again, respond that he had nowhere in particular to be, that he’d love to stay and do some adventuring.

Instead he moved back, away from Jake’s enticing winking and smiling and offers for fun and excitement.

“Alright,” He said, “Bye then.”

And with that he shifted back to his horse form, stepped into the nearest current and galloping for home, leaving Jake in the dust.

.

.

And so the kelpie and the merboy sought each other out again for the first meeting.

It didn’t really go as well as Dirk had been hoping.

Setting a rule for three meetings over three days seemed like a good idea at the time, seemed like the proper fairytale bullshit thing to do, but put into practice, Dirk found it surprisingly hard to keep to.

First there was the fact that he really wanted to see Jake more than just three times.

See, mind you, not talk to. Most of his efforts in learning more about Jake involved stalking him from afar.

Add to that the fact that Jake kept catching him sneaking around and insisted on trying to engage in conversation, and that put Dirk in a bit of a tough spot. Jake was amazingly difficult to resist when he was grinning and waving like they were already the best of pals.

That first meeting, he was weak. He fell prey to Jake’s friendly air, grudgingly shifting to his more conversational humanoid shape and swimming closer.

They made awkward conversation, with Jake laughing more often than not and Dirk trying hard not to cringe at their combined lack of social skill. This was why he’d wanted to plan his meetings a little more carefully in the first place, to avoid all the uncomfortable issues of actually _talking_ to someone. But Jake, being a big fan of talking, refused to let him study in silence. With his prodding, Dirk was nudged into speaking more than he was used to.

It paid off, though, because the more Dirk spoke, the more comfortable Jake seemed. He laughed honestly, like he really thought Dirk was funny, blushed as though his vaguely flirtatious comments actually made an impression. He acted as though they really were friends, smiled in a way that suggested the possibility of something more, and if Dirk wasn’t so paranoid about doing this all the right way, he’d be pretty damn proud of himself.

Despite the initial awkwardness, the first meeting went over well. When they parted ways, flustered and smiling, Jake asked how he could contact Dirk.

“Stab your finger and ask for me as the blood permeates the water,” Dirk suggested, “Kelpies respond well to that kind of thing.

Jake pulled a face, studied his hands for a moment, then said, “How about I just send a messenger crab?”

Dirk gave it some thought, eventually nodding in agreement. Crab messages could work. Besides, blood might attract the wrong kelpie, and they certainly didn’t want that.

“You’ll have to surrender your secret location though,” Jake reminded him, grinning, and Dirk grit his teeth, feeling very stupid and very unsafe as he scratched directions to his cave into the sand.

.

.

The second meeting was better planned, though Dirk was still on edge about it.

Jake invited him out via crab, asking him to come along for a bit of adventuring. After some debate, Dirk sent the crab scuttling back with a polite yes in response.

The night before they were supposed to meet, Dirk searched his whole cave looking for an appropriate gift to offer. Not that he thought a gift would be expected, but rather because it would be a step up from their last meeting. Pleasant conversation was nice and all, but a proper gift would almost certainly move their relationship along.

Eventually he chose a small sword from his assorted treasures, an item both attractive and practical. Early in the morning, he carried it by its jeweled handle all the way to the coral reef where he waited for Jake to show.

When the merboy swam up to greet him, Dirk offered him the sword, blade pointed down so as not to be threatening.

“Oh is, uh, is that for me?” Jake asked, and waited patiently for an answer while Dirk considered that the early morning light suited him just as much as the late afternoon sun.

“Yes,” He said finally, “A gift. It’s for self-defense, since merfolk are appallingly easy to kill.”

Jake balked, and, after a moment of thought, Dirk added, “No offense.”

The merboy shook his head, looking a little embarrassed as he took the sword by the handle, “No, no, none taken. Thank you.”

For a moment, Dirk feared they might settle into another one of the awkward silences that were becoming familiar, but soon enough Jake broke into a grin and declared the sword a perfect gift, that, actually, would be quite useful while they were out adventuring.

Dirk didn’t bother to point out that Jake would never need tools for self-defense if he was traveling with him. He hoped that the promise of protection would be silently understood.

Regardless, Jake brandished the sword with pride all day, using it to point to things, rapping it against bits of shipwreck, and threatening the odd eel or flounder. He showed Dirk around a few edges of a bay he’d never cared to swim through before, and made him smile all along the way.

They came to the edge of the water and took a look around the surface, Dirk using the convenience of his legs to climb up on the nearest rock, then giving Jake a hand to pull him out of the water and get a better view of the land.

Their hands never quite separated after, even once they plunged back underwater. They stayed close, in fact, until they made their way back around to the coral reef.

There, Jake stole his hand back, using it to rearrange his hair and adjust his glasses. He told Dirk he should probably be heading home, and Dirk did not at all want him to go.

Once again, he considered snatching the merboy up, stashing him away in his cave.

But that’d screw up his rules, and also Jake might not like him afterward.

So he kept his grabby hands to himself, curling his fingers to fists and nodding his understanding.

“Thanks for coming out with me today, pal,” Jake said, “I’m actually glad you’re sticking to this three days thing. I really hope we can be friends!”

Friends, of course, being the end result of the deal he’d made.

And though all Dirk really wanted to do was kiss him on the mouth and tell him that being more than friends would be a better idea, he nodded again.

“Me too,” He admitted, and saying that much was an effort.

They parted ways with a wave and a smile, and Dirk swam toward home with a heavy heart.

Only two of three days in, and he was already half-certain he would screw the pooch on this relationship thing.

.

.

Dirk considered himself a very clever kelpie, intelligent and talented in practically every regard, but in this, he was admittedly clueless. He had very little experience talking to anyone, much less convincing dopey merboys that he didn’t want to kill them, or even be their ‘pal,’ but just kiss them a little bit.

Realizing he needed a bit of help in figuring out how to handle Jake, Dirk made up his mind to seek advice from another party.

He thought about asking his siblings for help, but ultimately decided against it. Dave would no doubt be just as awkward as Dirk himself, Roxy too outrageous, and Rose…well, Rose would likely recommend the use of a love spell. And while the thought of enchanting Jake and forcing him to fall in love was a tempting proposition, Dirk had a feeling it’d all go sour in the end.

Also it was probably morally wrong.

Back in his own lake, Dirk sat on the floor of his cave before a magic mirror, one of his most prized possessions. The spirit within was a source of great insight, and he often consulted with it during troubling times.

Or just talked to it when nobody else was around.

“Mirror,” Dirk said, passing a webbed hand over its shining surface to awaken the spirit within, “I need to talk to you.”

“Hal,” said the mirror, voice echoing up through the glass as though coming from down a long, dark hole, “I keep tellin’ you to call me Hal.”

Dirk rolled his eyes as the spirit came into view, shimmering around the edges till it found its place in his reflection. It matched him move for move, every blink and every swallow. It could be his twin, if not for the coloring, several shades darker than his own, as though its skin and hair were made of shadow.

“Hal, right, whatever,” Dirk conceded. As he settled in for a helpful chat, the spirit of the mirror wriggled loose from his reflection, keeping the image of his face but contorting it to suit his own needs.

“Short for Halpocamp,” It said snappishly, because it thought it was very clever and funny indeed.

Dirk frowned, not thinking it clever or funny at all, “I need your advice on a sensitive matter,” He explained.

“Sensitive, huh? What, are you having some hoof rot issues? I warned you about the thrush, man. I told you, dog.”

“Shut up,” Dirk said tiredly, because this was basically how conversations with his magic mirror always went. He would ask a question and the mirror would give him a snarky response or insult him until he got frustrated and told it to fuck off.

Did I say the mirror was a prized possession that provided a source of great insight? What I meant was that the mirror was a piece of shit and he hated it.

“Touchy, touchy,” Hal sighed, the image of his surface flickering slightly, “Fine then, what is it that’s got your fins in a twist?”

Dirk did not quite meet the mirror’s eyes as he answered, “A matter of the heart.”

Hal blinked at him, disbelieving for a moment, but finally cracked a smile, “Dirk the deadly kelpie prince is swooning over somebody? Well bottle my ass and call me a genie, I never thought I’d see the day!”

Dirk frowned more intensely, sure that the mirror would sense his displeasure at being teased.

Which it did, of course. It just thought making fun of him was really, really entertaining.

“So who’s the lucky dude?” Hal asked, leaning Dirk’s reflection in close to grin at him, “Or lady, whatever. I never really got which tide you swam with anyway.”

“It’s a merboy,” Dirk said, and hesitated a moment before adding, “His name is Jake.”

“Jake who?” The mirror prodded, countering Dirk’s suspicious glance with wide-eyed innocence.

“Jake Noneofyourfuckingbusiness.”

Hal frowned, but shrugged, not about to push the issue.

Dirk didn’t entirely trust Hal, which was probably a good move because the guy was kind of a dick. The fact that Dirk even did enough stalking and snooping around to find Jake’s last name on his own would have been a scandal if anyone were to find out.

“Like I really care,” Hal said dismissively, and took up his smug smiling again, “So what’s your deal? If you have a thing for this guy, why don’t you go tell him so?” The mirror’s surface rippled again, reformed to show the spirit pouting in faux-sympathy, “Or did you already do that and he turned you down? Owch. I’m surprised you didn’t kill him on the spot.”

“He didn’t reject me,” Dirk corrected quickly, then, after a pause, “I didn’t tell him yet. I haven’t even talked to him that much.”

“Have you talked to him at _all_?”

Dirk’s cheeks colored, fins all flaring up, “ _Yes._ ”

Not a lot, of course, but it was still something.

“That’s a good first step.”

“I thought so, yeah.”

“So what are you going to do? Ask him to be your mate?”

Dirk bit at his lower lip, worrying the skin there. Admittedly, choosing a mate was sort of what he had in mind. Saying so out loud, however, was difficult. Thinking of saying so out loud to Jake made his head hurt.

“I don’t know,” He answered finally, “Maybe. That’s why I’m talking to you, because I don’t really have any experience with this kind of thing.”

“And I do? I’m not exactly rolling in action over here,” For just a second, the mirror looked slightly peeved, “You won’t even let me talk to your sister anymore.”

Dirk furrowed his brow. Roxy was another matter entirely, not his concern for the moment.

“You’re supposed to be all-knowing, or close to it. You can’t give me some simple advice on how to talk to a guy I like?”

Hal shrugged, exaggerated, rolling his eyes as if Dirk asked the world of him, “Man, I don’t know. I could probably tell you, like, who’s the fairest dolphin of them all. Talking to merpeople though? Pfffff.”

Dirk waited, watching the mirror for an answer.

The mirror stared back.

They passed a few moments in silence before finally, exasperated, Hal asked, “Did you try giving him a present?”

Dirk nodded, “I gave him a sword. He seemed to like it.”

“Ughhh, see. There’s your problem. You give a guy a sword, he’s gonna think you’re buddies. Go for something more romantic.”

“…I thought the sword was pretty romantic.”

Hal sighed, “Can’t you just give him flowers or something? Something normal?”

Dirk considered.

He’d been thinking more along the lines of staging a dramatic rescue to win Jake’s affection, perhaps leveling a neighboring coral reef to prove the passion behind his intentions, but maybe that was all a bit over the top.

“Flowers would probably be good,” He agreed.

The mirror blustered.

“Are you fucking kidding me,” The spirit cried, “You couldn’t think of flowers on your own? Jesus christ in a Hot Pocket, and you’re supposed to be a genius-“

Dirk passed his fingers over the glass again, sending the grumbling spirit back to the darkness it came from.

With his new plan in mind, Dirk set out to find an appropriate bunch of flowers.

.

.

It took some time and effort, but eventually Dirk gathered a bouquet that he deemed acceptable.

In reality it was just a handful of pinkish, uprooted sea anemones, but they were attractive enough for Dirk’s liking. He tried to imagine handing them off to Jake, seeing the merboy swoon and blush and fall into his waiting arms.

He was starting to think another sword would be a better idea.

But flowers were what he had, so flowers were what he would give.

He borrowed a bit of magic from his sisters, disguising the bouquet as a simple bit of seaweed, hoping the dramatic reveal might startle Jake into being impressed with him.

He felt very, very silly about the whole business.

With his gift secured, he got a hold of Jake’s messenger crab (poor thing was a little skittish around him, understandably,) and sent it scurrying out to deliver a formal invitation, something along the lines of ‘Can we see each other today?’

He realized after the fact that it was rude of him to assume that Jake would have no better plans than to meet up with him that very day, but he didn’t have to worry about it for very long. Sure enough, as he sat brooding in his cave, thinking himself the most socially inept creature to ever swim the seven seas, Jake’s response came scuttling up to meet him.

Holding half of a clam shell with ‘BY GOLLY YES!’ carved in it made it hard for him to sink too far into self-loathing.

The two met at noon in the now familiar coral reef, Dirk holding his hidden bouquet as nonchalantly as possible, Jake actually looking a tad suspicious.

And a tad embarrassed.

Apparently Dirk wasn’t the only one coming into things feeling nervous.

“Three days, right?” Jake reminded him as he swam up, one hand closed tight around something secret.

Dirk nodded, “Three days.”

“And here we are,” Jake said with a wary smile, “Friends?”

Dirk hesitated. He tightened his hold on the seaweed in his hands, half-wishing to throw it into a whirlpool before he had a chance to give it away, “That was the arrangement,” He said eventually.

Jake blinked at him, “…and?”

“And what?”

“And did you decide we can be friends?”

“Well. The short answer is yes.”

Jake raised his eyebrows, “There’s a long answer?”

Dirk presented his bouquet, face already feeling hot as it transformed from a drab bit of seaweed into a full bunch of pink and purple anemone blooms.

“The long answer,” He explained, “Is that I am in favor of being friends with you, but if you’d entertain the possibility, I’d actually like to be more than friends with you.”

Jake stared down at the offered flowers, looking the strongest sort of awkward Dirk had ever seen.

Sure that this would blow up in his face, Dirk envisioned himself smashing the magic mirror. That’d teach the asshole to lead him astray with romantic advice. That’d teach _him_ to listen to enchanted objects that made a habit of stealing his face.

“Well….shit,” Jake said finally, voice low, “Dirk I-“

“If you’re not interested, that’s okay,” Dirk said quickly, not wanting to scare Jake off, still, “I know I come across as sort of weird and intimidating, so I understand if you don’t like me that way. You can be honest. I still promise I’m not going to kill you.”

And that was a promise he intended to keep. He might go home and sulk in his cave for a while, but he certainly wouldn’t take out his frustration on a friend.

“I- I’m not really sure what to say,” Jake stammered, though he reached out to take the bouquet from Dirk’s hands, holding it at arm’s length as if in disbelief.

Dirk waited for an answer, for a gentle rejection, tense.

But the rejection never came. Instead, Jake thrust his other hand out, uncurling his fingers and presenting Dirk with what looked like a handful of small shells.

“I got you something too,” He blurted out, looking somewhat panicked.

Dirk reached out to touch the shells, cautious, and tried to pick one up. The rest came with it, all strung together, and as he took the string in both hands and held it up, he realized it wasn’t just a pile of shells, but a _strand_ of shells.

It made for a rather pretty necklace, each shell was tiny and white, looking like a row of teeth set against each other. When he looked more closely, he could see the blues and purples mixed across them like natural brush strokes, a few tingeing black in places. Separately they were quite pretty, but all together they were nothing short of charming.

It was a very nice gift, but also puzzling. Dirk looked up to Jake, one eyebrow raised, silently seeking an explanation.

“It’s a necklace,” Jake said, and winced as he realized how stupidly obvious that was. He seemed to fumble for his words, waving his hands a little in an attempt to communicate, “Er, that is, of course it’s a necklace, but um…It’s a necklace I made! And, eh….oh bollocks, I don’t suppose you’re very well informed on merfolk customs, are you?”

Dirk shook his head, half watching Jake speak, half studying his gift. The shells were so small, so delicate, he couldn’t imagine the merboy having the patience to string them all together.

“Well, you see, in my culture it’s sort of traditional to give jewelry to people, and, uh…” He trailed off, cleared his throat, started again, forcing a nervous smile, “We give jewelry to people we care about, that is. Family members and friends we wish to hold on to for years to come, and…you know. Lovers.”

Dirk’s attention was very much off the necklace, then.

Jake looked like he might choke on his own words, but somehow he managed to force them out, “N-not that I can take _all_ the credit for the idea. I’m not so good with these things myself, but my pal Jane, well, she’s one clever girl see, and she said that if I wanted to show you just how much us becoming friends means to me, I ought to make you one of these necklaces.”

Actually, what she’d said was that if Jake knew what was good for him he would stop playing dumb and let that poor boy know that he realized he was interested, or so help him he’d end up killed by some odd monster by sundown. Or at the very least she would personally smack him upside the head.

But Dirk didn’t need to know all that.

“So this is a friendship necklace,” Dirk said, doing a stand up job of not looking too crestfallen.

“Yes!” Jake exclaimed, relieved that he was at least getting the concept, “Since we’re supposed to be friends now.” He hesitated then, clearly considering his next words carefully. He looked from Dirk down to the anemone bouquet in his own hands, brushing a pinkish bloom with one thumb before glancing back up at Dirk with a grin, “But I could always make you another one. Perhaps with slightly different intentions.

Dirk nodded slowly, taking in that information, processing the possibility.

“You could,” He agreed, smiling just the tiniest bit.

They did a momentary exchange, Dirk taking back his flowers to hold them while Jake took up his shell necklace, carefully slipping it over Dirk’s head.

It settled comfortably around his neck, though the light press of each shell made Dirk all too aware of its weight, of the implication behind it.

“You know,” He said, handing Jake back his bouquet, “This will probably break if I shapeshift while I’m wearing it.”

Jake made a thoughtful noise, holding his flowers over one shoulder, tapping them against the side of his neck as he considered, “Well,” He said finally, “I guess you’ll have to stay like this a bit more often then,” He winked, turning to teasing again, “I like this body, personally.”

And he grinned ear to ear as Dirk went pink in the face, hot with excitement, embarrassment, at being caught in Jake’s silly, sweet little necklace trap.

He didn’t bother pointing out that he could just take it off and stash it away while he was in another form, or that he might have to take it off anyway if he wanted to make room for a different necklace. Instead, he leaned in close and kissed Jake very gently on the cheek.

Jake, always dreadful about keeping up the formal ways of things, turned to catch Dirk’s lips with his mouth instead.

It was true like’s first kiss, imbibed with all the power of a really strong crush, and, had Dirk been under any evil spells, it probably would have broken them immediately and flooded the ocean with rays of golden light or something equally magnificent and show stopping.

But Dirk wasn’t under any evil spells, or any spells at all, so nothing all that spectacular happened.

He just kissed Jake back, nervous and giddy and not at all lonely anymore.

.

.

 


End file.
